“I participated as a panelist on Thursday at the Ambassador’s panel. The opportunities offered earlier with the coordination meeting with the moderator, the informal dinner with participants and the reception after the panel, together with the very interactive nature of the panel, allowed me to network and be in touch not only with diplomatic colleagues with a shared interest in human rights for LGBT persons and the Yogyakarta Principles but with activists from both Latin America and other regions that can result in future opportunities of collaboration. So, in a nutshell, a better understanding of the approaches to the issues coupled with the chance to network with people who are at the core of the issues in diverse fields.”

Maria Luz Melon, Counsellor, Embassy of Argentina,Austria, May 2017

“Strengthening human rights across the world is a priority of Germany’s foreign policy. To achieve this goal, building sustainable networks of human rights defenders is of course of central importance. These can be formalized networks in the form of human rights organizations like those that many of you represent, but also more fluid networks, such as the one you are building with the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum.”

“The High Representative has asked me to reaffirm the EU's strong commitment to the entitlement of all individuals to enjoy the full range of human rights without discrimination.

“I am glad to inform you that the EEAS [European External Action Service] will be represented at the Salzburg Global Seminar's session entitled LGBT and Human Rights: New Challenges, Next Steps by our colleague Ms Paola Amadéi, Head of Delegation to Jamaica.

“I join the High Representative in wishing you a successful event and look forward to our continued cooperation in the prevention and eradication of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Suvi Seppäläinen on behalf of Catherine Ashton, High Representative, European Commission,Brussels, April 2013

“In the future, the laws that criminalize so many forms of human love and commitment will look the way apartheid laws do to us now - so obviously wrong.

“We know that LGBT people are a part of every human community. We therefore need a forum for a truly global conversation about how they contribute to, and are affected by, the law, culture and creativity - and how we can ensure that their voices are heard and understood.

“I applaud Salzburg Global Seminar for deciding to hold a session on ‘LGBT and Human Rights: New Challenges, Next Steps’, at which all regions of the world will be represented, and I hope that it will mark the beginning of that global conversation.”